And, laft, eat up himself. Great Agamemnon,
This chaos, when degree is fuffocate,
Follows the choking.

And this neglection of degree it is,

That by a pace goes backward, with a purpose
It hath to climb. The general's difdain'd
By him one ftep below; he, by the next;
That next, by him beneath: fo every step,
Exampled by the first pace that is fick
Of his fuperior, grows to an envious fever
Of pale and bloodlefs emulation 3:

And 'tis this fever that keeps Troy on foot,
Not her own finews. To end a tale of length,
Troy in our weaknefs ftands, not in her ftrength.
Neft. Moft wifely hath Ulyffes here discover'd
The fever whereof all our power is fick.

Agam. The nature of the fickness found, Ulyffes,
What is the remedy?

Uly. The great Achilles,-whom opinon crowns
The finew and the forehand of our hoft,-
Having his ear full of his airy fame",

Grows dainty of his worth, and in his tent

Lies mocking our defigns: With him, Patroclus,
Upon a lazy bed, the livelong day

Breaks fcurril jefts;

And with ridiculous and aukward action

(Which, flanderer, he imitation calls,)

He pageants us. Sometime, great Agamemnon,

this neglection-] This uncommon word occurs again in Perie eles, 1609:

7

If neglection

"Should therein make me vile,-".

MALONE.

That by a pace-] That goes backward fep by flep. JOHNSON. -with a purpofe

It bath to climb:]] With a defign in each man to aggrandize himself, by flighting his immediate fuperior. JOHNSON.

Thus the quarto. Folio:-in a purpofe. MALONE.

४ - bloodiefs emulation:] An emulation not vigorous and active,

but malignant and fluggish. JOHNSON.

9- bis airy fame,] Verbal elogium; what our authour in Macbeth

has called mouth bonour. See p. 166, n. MALONE.

Thy topless deputation he puts on;
And, like a ftrutting player,-whofe conceit
Lies in his ham-ftring, and doth think it rich
To hear the wooden dialogue and found

'Twixt his stretch'd footing and the fcaffoldage2,-
Such to-be-pitied and o'er-wrefted feeming 3
He acts thy greatness in: and when he speaks,
'Tis like a chime a mending; with terms unfquar'd,
Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon dropp'd,
Would feem hyperboles. At this fufty ftuff,
The large Achilles, on his prefs'd bed lolling,
From his deep cheft laughs out a loud applaufe ;
Cries-Excellent !-'tis Agamemnon juft.-
Now play me Neftor ;-hem, and stroke thy beard,
As he, being 'dreft to fome oration.

That's done; -as near as the extremeft ends
Of parallels; as like as Vulcan and his wife:
Yet good Achilles ftill cries, Excellent!
'Tis Neftor right! Now play him me, Patroclus,
Arming to answer in a night alarm.

And then, forfooth, the faint defects of age
Must be the scene of mirth; to cough, and fpit,
And with a pally-fumbling on his gorget",

Shake

1 Thy toplefs deputation-] Topless is that which has nothing topping or over-topping it; fupreme; fovereign. JoHNSON.,

So, in Doctor Fauftus, 1604:

"Was this the face that launch'd a thousand fhips,

"And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" STEEVENS.

2 'Twixt bis ftretch'd footing and the feaffoldage,] The galleries of the theatre, in the time of our authour, were fometimes termed the fcaffolds. See The Account of the ancient Theatres, Vol. I. MALONE. 3-o'er-wrested feeming-] i. e. wrested beyond the truth; over. charged. Both the old copies, as well as all the modern editions, have o'er-refted, which affords no meaning. MALONE.

4 as near as the extremeft ends, &c.] The parallels to which the allufion feems to be made, are the parallels on a map. As like as east to weft. JOHNSON.

5

with a pally-fumbling on bis gorget,] Pally, as Mr. Tyrwhitt has obferved, is here ufed adjectively, for paralytick.

Fumbling is often applied by our old English writers to the fpeech. So, in K. Jobn, 1591:

66- he fumbletb in the mouth;

"His fpeech doth fail."

Shake in and out the rivet :—and at this sport,
Sir Valour dies; cries, O!-enough, Patroclus;—
Or give me ribs of fteel! I shall split all

In pleasure of my Spleen. And in this fashion,
All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,
Severals and generals of grace exact 7,
Atchievements, plots, orders, preventions,
Excitements to the field, or fpeech for truce,
Succefs, or lofs, what is, or is not, serves
As ftuff for these two to make paradoxes.
Neft. And in the imitation of these twain
(Whom, as Ulyffes fays, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice,) many are infect.
Ajax is grown felf-will'd; and bears his head
In fuch a rein, in full as proud a place
As broad Achilles: keeps his tent like him;
Makes factious feafts; rails on our state of war,
Bold as an oracle: and fets Therfites

(A flave, whofe gall coins flanders like a mint',)
To match us in comparisons with dirt;

To weaken and difcredit our exposure,

How rank foever rounded in with danger.

Uly. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice;

Again, in North's Tranflation of Plutarch: "he heard his wife Calphurnia being faft afleepe, weepe and figh, and put forth many fumbling lamentable fpeaches." Shakspeare, I believe, wrote-in his gorget. MALONE.

All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,

Severals and generals of grace exact, &c.] All our good grace exact, means, our excellence irreprebenfible. JOHNSON.

8 -to make paradoxes.] Paradoxes may have a meaning, but it is not clear and diftinct. I wish the copies had given: to make parodies. JOHNSON.

9 · bears bis bead

In fuch a rein, That is, holds up his head as haughtily. We Aill fay of a girl, fhe bridles. JOHNSON.

- whofe gall coins flanders like a mint,] i. e. as fast as a mint coins money. So Vol. V. p. 147, n. 5. MALONE.

2 How rank foever rounded in with danger.] A rank weed is a bigb d. The modern editions filently read: How hard foever.

JOHNSON.
Count

Count wisdom as no member of the war ;
Foreftall pre-science, and esteem no act
But that of hand; the ftill and mental parts,-
That do contrive how many hands shall strike,
When fitness calls them on; and know, by measure
Of their obfervant toil, the enemies' weight,-
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity;

They call this-bed-work, mappery, closet war:
So that the ram, that batters down the wall,
For the great fwing and rudeness of his poize,
They place before his hand that made the engine;
Or those, that with the fineness of their fouls
By reafon guide his execution.

Neft. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horfe
Makes many Thetis' fons.

[Trumpet founds. Agam. What trumpet? look, Menelaus. Men. From Troy.

Enter ENEAS.

Agam. What would you 'fore our tent?

Ene. Is this great Ágamemnon's tent, I pray you ?
Agam. Even this.

Ene. May one, that is a herald, and a prince,
Do a fair meffage to his kingly ears 3?

Agam. With furety ftronger than Achilles' arm

'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon head and general.

Ene. Fair leave, and large fecurity. How may A ftranger to those most imperial looks s

3-kingly ears?] The quarto:

Know

kingly eyes. JoHNSON. 4 -Achilles' arm] So the copies. Perhaps the authour wrote: -Alcides' arm. JOHNSON.

5 Aftranger to thofe most imperial looks] And yet this was the seventh year of the war. Shakspeare, who fo wonderfully preferves character, ufually confounds the cuftoms of all nations, and probably fuppofed that the ancients (like the heroes of chivalry) fought with beavers to their helmets. So, in the fourth act of this play, Nettor fays to Hector :

But this thy countenance, ftill lock'd in fteel,
I never faw till now.

Shakspeare

Know them from eyes of other mortals ?

Agam. How?

Ene. Ay; I afk, that I might waken reverence,
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modeft as morning when the coldly eyes

The youthful Phobus:

Which is that god in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?

Agam. This Trojan scorns us; or the men of Troy Are ceremonious courtiers.

Ene. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm'd, As bending angels; that's their fame in peace: But when they would feem foldiers, they have galls, Good arms, ftrong joints, true fwords; and, Jove's accord,

Nothing fo full of heart7. But peace, Eneas,

Peace,

Shakspeare might have adopted this error from the illuminators of manufcripts, who never feem to have entertained the leaft idea of habits, manners, or cuftoms more ancient than their own. There are books in the British Mufeum of the age of king Henry VI; and in these the heroes of ancient Greece are reprefented in the very dreffes worn at the time when the books received the decorations. STEEV. In The Deftruction of Troy, Shakspeare found all the chieftains of each army termed knights, mounted on ftately horfes, defended with modern helmets, &c. &c. MALONE.

6-bid the cheek-] So the quarto. The folio has: : - on the check. JOHNSON.

7 - they bave galls,

Good arms, frong joints, true fwords; and, Jove's accord,

Nothing fo full of beart.] I have not the fmalleft doubt that the poet wrote (as I fuggefted in my SECOND APPENDIX, 8vo. 1783) they have galls,

Good arms, ftrong joints, true fwords; and Jove's a god
Nothing fo full of heart.

So, in Macbeth:

"Sleek o'er your rugged looks; be bright and jovial

"Among your guests to-night."

Again, in Antony and Cleopatra:

"Caefar, why he's the Jupiter of men."

Again, ibidem:

"Thou art, if thou dar'ft be, the earthly Jove."

The text in my apprehenfion is unintelligible, though I have not

ventured